


Go Home, Come Home

by prelude_to_midnight



Category: Derry Girls (TV)
Genre: F/F, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Light Angst, Pining, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:26:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23044723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prelude_to_midnight/pseuds/prelude_to_midnight
Summary: After Michelle has a rough night at home, she goes to visit Clare.
Relationships: Clare Devlin/Michelle Mallon
Comments: 1
Kudos: 82





	Go Home, Come Home

The frigid night air sent a shiver down Michelle’s spine as she walked through the empty streets of Derry. The moon glared down at her like a searchlight as she found herself glancing into the lighted windows of homes as she passed, staring in mad jealousy of the happy families as they ate dinner, played games, and watched television together. Chugging the last of the beer she had stolen from her mother, she smashed the glass against the pavement. Crushing the glass further under her shoes, she needed something to feel the way she felt. She huddled into her jacket, walking faster. Through the window of Erin’s home she saw that her and Orla too were enjoying themselves, laughing with all their family. Turning away, the wind howled passed her. At a far distance she could see Jenny’s house, her imagination ran wild at what fun she was probably having with her family. She kicked low brick walls over and over, grunting as she did, uncaring that her shoes scuffed or that it was starting to hurt.  
Something clattered against the pavement, Michelle looked down to see that her rainbow pin had fallen from her lapel. Picking it up, she stared at it with her brows furrowed, she bent down to search for the metal backing, stumbling over herself and falling to her knees. Groaning, she stuck her hands in her hair in an attempt to gather herself. She stayed like that for a little while, the metal backing reflected against the streetlamps and Michelle picked it up, sticking the pin in her pocket.  
She marched up those crooked streets searching for Clare once again, after all she was always the first person Michelle went to after her larks. Sneaking into the backyard, she dragged a heavy ladder and leaned it firmly against Clare’s bedroom window. Tapping at the glass, she waited impatiently as she leaned on the sill, the ladder beneath her teetering in the wind. Once Clare had drawn open the curtains with a horrified expression on her face, Michelle faked a smile and waved, gesturing for her to open the window. 

“What’re you doin’ here Michelle?” Clare asked frantically after she threw open the window. 

“I-” she cut herself off once she noticed the glow of a television set. “Since when have you got a fuckin’ television in your room?”

“I only just got it last week!”

“How the hell?”

“Well, we haven’t-” she corrected herself once she saw Michelle’s jaw clench “I haven’t gotten in trouble lately…”

Michelle lifted her eyebrows for a second and looked off to the side. “Alright, fuckin’ fair play to you.”

Clare backed away from her window to allow Michelle to climb inside. “You didn’t answer me when I asked what’re you doing here?”

Shoving her hands in her pockets, she toyed with the rainbow pin inside. “Look, me ma gave me out. I just needed to go cool off on a walk and I decided to stop by, is that a fuckin’ problem?”

“No,” she said. “But, I think you should go home I mean I don’t want to get in trouble..” she trailed off once Michelle let out an irritated huff. She began to stammer an apology, unable to say the right words.

“Right then,” Michelle said in a quieter tone. ”Can I stay over?” 

Clare gazed at her friend. Her eyes seemed softer, her tone less rough. She merely nodded and climbed back into her bed, gesturing at the space next to hers for Michelle to follow. She pulled off her shoes and tossed her jacket to the floor, settling next to her over the covers. Crossing her arms over her chest, she half-heartedly asked her what she was watching. She intently listened as her eyes wandered around Clare’s room, taking in her wooden bookshelves filled with novels and trinkets, including a small statue of Mary. Glancing at her posters of films she herself had no interest in, she took a double take at the photo tacked to the bedpost. It was a photo of all of them before James had arrived, the four girls smiling in pure delight, Clare’s head leaning against Michelle’s shoulder with a grin on her face. A small smile tugged on her lips and she refocused her attention to Clare, there was a sparkle in her eyes that Michelle always noticed when she spoke so passionately about the things she cared about. The blonde caught her gaze after she was done. 

“What?” she asked, worrying that her rambling had annoyed her further.

“Nothin’” Michelle said. “I was just listenin’”

“Is everything alright, Michelle?” 

Furrowing her brows, she replied with a firm. “Yes.”  
She nodded to the television and asked who the ride on the screen was, taking joy in Clare’s enthusiasm as she told her who he was and his importance to the story. Her mind wandered as the marathon continued, wondering if James or her mother had noticed she had gone, or if they even cared at all. She supposed they knew she would always return home, even if she felt more welcome at everyone else’s home than her own. Clare periodically glanced at Michelle, there was something in the way she stared blankly at the screen or looked off to the other parts of her room that made her worry. During a commercial break, she asked her if she was truly alright. Michelle shrugged her off, she would be fine, she would always be fine in the end. Clare placed her hand on Michelle’s arm, assuring her she would always be there for her. In turn, Michelle’s jaw clenched and she hunched her shoulders. Nodding to the screen when the show returned, she still kept Clare’s words in her heart. 

As the night went on Clare’s eyelids grew heavy. Soon she fell asleep, slumping against Michelle’s shoulder, her hand laying palm up by her side. Michelle carefully uncrossed her arms, moving her hand down to hers. Her blonde hair draped over her shoulder, Michelle played with it throughout the night, unable to close her eyes at all.  
The vibrant orange glow of the early morning sun pooled into the room. Michelle moved off the bed, careful to not wake Clare as she did. Pulling on her shoes and jacket, she glanced one more time at her friend before she left. Not one hint of anxiety touched her soft face as she slept. For a moment Michelle envied her and her ability to worry, for her own heart had grown barbed wire around it, her skin just the same. Still, somewhere deep in her heart there was a place for Erin, and for Orla, and even for James, and especially there was a place for Clare.  
Adjusting the rainbow pin on her lapel, she climbed down. She moved the ladder where she had found it, as if she had never been there at all. As she walked through the orange tinted streets of Derry, the cool morning air breathed her a new life, an unfamiliar sense of peace curled into her heart, knowing her friends would always be there for her. Through all their nonsense and harebrained schemes, they would always have each other. A genuine smile spread over her face as she passed Erin and Orla’s house, she began to jog with a grin on her face as she approached her home where James stood on the steps waiting for her to come home.


End file.
